Vice-Admiral Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter, VC (17 September 1881 – 27 December 1955) was a Royal Navy officer who was selected by his fellow officers and men to receive the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Family

Carpenter was born in

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

, the son of Henrietta Maud née Shadwell (1858-1889) and Captain Alfred Carpenter RN, and grandson of Commander Charles Carpenter. He attended Bedales School founded by his Uncle Edward Carpenter's close friend

John Haden Badley John Haden Badley (21 February 1865 – 6 March 1967) was an English author, educator, and founder of Bedales School, which claims to have become the first coeducational public boarding school in England in 1893. Life Born in Dudley, Worcest ...

. In 1903 married to Emily Maud Mary Tordiffe (1881-1923) and after her death married Hilda Margaret Allison née Smith (1891-1958) in 1927.

Career

Carpenter joined the Royal Navy and saw naval service as a midshipman in Crete in 1898 and during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

of 1900–01. He was acting

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

from 15 May 1901. In August 1902 he was temporarily posted to the

torpedo boat destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in 1 ...

HMS ''Havock'' for service during the Coronation Fleet review. From late October that year he was posted to the corvette HMS ''Cleopatra'', used as a training cruiser in home waters, and confirmed in the rank of sub-lieutenant. He specialised in navigation from 1903 and received the thanks of the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

for several inventions, and a Humane Society medal for saving life at sea. During World War I he served on

Admiral Jellicoe Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, (5 December 1859 – 20 November 1935) was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Boxer Rebellion and commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutla ...

's staff 1914–15. He was promoted to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in 1915 and served as navigating officer of HMS ''Emperor of India'' 1915–17. On 22/23 April 1918,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Carpenter was in command of HMS ''Vindictive'' which was to land a force of 200

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

on the mole at Zeebrugge at the start of the Zeebrugge Raid. For his conduct during this action he was awarded the VC: (Rule 13 of the Royal Warrant provides that after an action in which all are equally brave and distinguished, where no special selection can be made, the officer in overall command may direct that one officer may be selected for the award by the officers and men who took part in the action.) Carpenter was also made an Officer of the Legion of Honour and awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm. He was sent on a lecturing tour through the US and Canada, 1918–19. After the war, Carpenter was in command of HMS ''Carysfort'' in the Atlantic Fleet 1921–23, Captain of Chatham Dockyard 1924–26, in command of HMS ''Benbow'' in 1926 and of

HMS Marlborough Six warships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Marlborough'' after the Duke of Marlborough: * , a second rate, renamed ''Marlborough'' 1706; fought in the Seven Years' War; present in Sir George Pocock's fleet at the taking of Havana from t ...

1927–28. He was a naval aide-de-camp to the King (an honorary position) in 1929, and promoted rear-admiral and placed on the retired list in the same year. He was promoted to vice-admiral (retired) in 1934. During World War II he commanded the Wye Valley section of the Gloucestershire Home Guard. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

, London, England.

Publications

*''The blocking of Zeebrugge'', Herbert Jenkins, London, 1925, translated into French as ''L'embouteillage de Zeebrugge'', Payot, Paris, 1924 *''De Raid op Zeebrugge'' door Carl Decaluwé en Tomas Termoteis (gebaseerd op 80 glasplaten van de kapitein van de Vindictive, Captain Alfred Carpenter, die in WO I de aanval op Zeebrugge leidde), ROULARTA MEDIA GROUP, , 15 April 2015

References

CARPENTER, Vice-Admiral Alfred Francis Blakeney
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007
Obituary – Vice-Adm. A.F. Carpenter – The Zeebrugge Raid
''The Times'', London, 28 December 1955, page 11 * Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999) * The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997) *

VCs of the First World War - The Naval VCs ''VCs of the First World War'' is a series of books that list the Victoria Cross recipients of the First World War. The series consists of 13 books written by four different authors, first published under the label Sutton Publishing Limited, part ...

(Stephen Snelling, 2002) *

External links

* *
Location of grave and VC medal
''(Gloucestershire)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Alfred Francis Blakeney 1881 births 1955 deaths People from Barnes, London People educated at Bedales School Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Royal Navy vice admirals Military personnel from Surrey British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Royal Navy personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Royal Navy officers of World War I British Home Guard officers Deputy Lieutenants of Gloucestershire British military personnel of the 1898 Occupation of Crete 19th-century Royal Navy personnel